The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University recently released an analysis of ICE information showing that "no more than 14 percent of the 'detainers' issued by the government in FY 2012 and the first four months of FY 2013 met the agency's stated goal of targeting individuals who pose a serious threat to public safety or national security."
Instead of focusing on drug dealers and other vicious criminals, hundreds of thousands of low-risk offenders have gotten the attention that should have been reserved for actual threats to the homeland.
This is yet another example of missing out on a simple chance to pick off the low-hanging fruit. ICE could just follow its stated mandates and focus on the worst-of-the-worst instead of sweeping up corn vendors and car washers. In the process, ICE could gain a measure of respect as purveyors of "smart enforcement" tactics rather than as experts in low-priority persecution.